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Tony Mowbray believes it won’t be too long before Harry Chapman is getting the Blackburn fans out of their seats.

The former Middlesbrough winger joined Rovers in the January window but a lack of fitness has meant he’s yet to make a senior start since that transfer.

The 21-year-old has, however, came through Monday’s Under-23 game between Blackburn and Everton unscathed, getting 57 minutes under his belt in a 2-0 defeat at Southport.

Chapman’s major issue is building up strength in his hamstring following surgery last season.

“He’s getting there now, he’s close,” Mowbray told iFollow Rovers. “He’s trained really well to be honest. He got re-tested the other day and his numbers are fantastically better than they were the day we tested him when he signed.

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Mowbray kept tabs on the Rockliffe Park Academy graduate and finally got his man on January 28, when Chapman penned a two-and-a-half year deal.

Signed as one for the not too distant future, the former England youth international should be ready to start a competitive fixture before the end of the season.

“I see him every day in action,” said Mowbray. “He’s good, he’s fast, he’s dynamic. He can manipulate the ball, he can beat people, he can score a goal. He’s exciting.

“And yet, it’s too risky to throw him in to a scenario for us at the moment because when he plays for our first team he has to be at full pelt.

Harry Chapman on the Blackburn vs Boro programme

“That hamstring needs protecting and looking after and strengthening. At the moment there’s an imbalance - a weakness in one hamstring and we need to work on that and strengthen it, along with his training, where he can manage himself.

“Hopefully before the end of the season we’ll see him back on the pitch and doing what he does - getting people out of their seats, bursting into space, driving past people and creating chances for the team.

“The lads are enjoying his company. He understands the situation. He’s not in a rush. He knows he has to strengthen and get ready for our team. We’re delighted he’s here.”